Mass Effect: To the Citadel and Beyond
by AsozMania
Summary: Starting from the destruction of the Collectors the story follows the time with Tali and Shepard as the main characters but will include all characters eventually!First Fanfic. Now rated M for scenes to come.
1. Chapter 1

Mass Effect: To the Citadel and Beyond

A pulse rifle fired, the sound cracked the air and missed Shepard's head by less than an inch; it could have been fired on another planet for all he cared because he didn't register it and just kept running. He allowed himself one quick glimpse behind, at least 30 Collectors were close behind some with Particle Beams raised charging them up to unleash devastation on the Commander and his squad whilst others were making a futile attempt to catch up to them to stop them from boarding the Normandy SR2, the sight made Shepard sprint faster with renewed vigour determined to keep the promise he had made before this "suicide mission".

_It was quiet on the Deck 1, Shepard was deep in thought looking at what was meant to be various shipping logs that Detective Anaya had forwarded for him to look at after he had helped her not only stop her being "ripped a new one" by Samara but he had also destroyed most of the Eclipse in that sector AND given her evidence that Pitne For was a thieving backstabbing good for nothing drug smuggler, basically to cut it short crime was a record low in her sector, hell yeah Shepard thought it's time for her to scratch my back after all he'd done for her! But alas even though she had gone to the trouble of getting him various amounts of "top secret" information he was busy playing MineSweeper 21__th__ Century edition, however had gotten bored with playing it the way any normal person would and so had downloaded a SupERFast Quad mod for it where there were no flags, one life and you had to find all the bombs within 5 seconds. It was easy to see that Shepard liked a challenge, he was concentrating on it so much that he didn't hear the lift halt at the top floor and the door to his cabin open to reveal a beautiful Quarian woman clad in purple, that Quarian was Tali Zorah Vas Normandy Nar Raya; she nervously walked into the room._

"_She..Shepard?" She called out to the preoccupied Commander_

_Shepard heard nothing; he was so psyched at this moment._

"_OH MY GOD" he thought "only one more bomb to find and I have finally slain this bloody game that's been haunting me since Ilos! He let out a small chuckle. "Never shall anything overcome the awesomeness that is Commander John Shepard!" _

"_Oh Keelah! He's not answering, perhaps he hasn't heard me? Should I speak again? He's turned away from me more does that mean that he doesn't want to see me? Keelah I wish I'd researched more on human body language! No Tali get a hold of yourself he obviously just hasn't heard you he would have said if he didn't want you here"._

"_Shepard?" A moment of silence occurred until Tali attempted to press further "Commander? I hope I'm not disturbing anything"? _

"_Come on bomb show yourself to Momma!" _

_Tali decided that he obviously hadn't heard her either times "perhaps he has one of those Apples in his ears" she wondered about whether she should try out playing music in her helmet the next time Shepard wanted to see her with some important news, "that would show him the stupid Bosh'tet!, oh Keelah Shepard I'm so sorry! _

_Unfortunately Tali hadn't taken the time to ask Shepard whether humans had the power of telepathy with their closest family members and so decided to move and touch Shepard to get his attention not only to tell him that she had taken some anti-biotics and immuno boosters but also to apologise for calling him a bosh'tet, she moved closer now close enough to touch, her heart rate had increased tenfold and her breathing had deepened from stress, she reached out and touched his shoulder; it felt amazing to be in contact with him; she built up the courage and slightly louder added "John"?_

"_Come on you stupid piece of crap I want to win!" _

_Shepard reached down with his finger to press the final unhidden box. This was it. He was going to win. He was already congratulating himself and formulating his I Told You So speech to Garrus and about how he had a lack of faith in his friend and should now bow down and bask in his glory when something with 3 digits grasped his shoulder, Shepard jumped and missed the unhidden box by only a fraction but it was just enough for him to fail, Shepard decided that if it was Garrus that had stopped him from being King of Everything then he would take Garrus and throw him out of the airlock._

"_Oh come on Garrus I was SO CLOSE did you really have to mess it up now?" Shepard said with his voice rising higher and higher until the final word he spat out with a great amount of venom, he instantly regretted it after turning round and seeing who it was._

"_Oh Keelah Shepard I'm sorry for interrupting you at such an important time and for calling you a bosh'tet and for thinking we were close and.." Tali was stopped in her nervous speech as Shepard put his index finger to her mouth piece._

"_Tali I assure you that you have nothing to be sorry for" Shepard gently grasped the young Quarians hand and squeezes it "I'm sorry I shouted I thought you were Garrus"_

"_But Shepard I…." Tali was cut off by Shepard who raised his hand and then placed it on her hip._

"_Oh Keelah" Tali thought as her face burned up from embarrassment "The legendary Commander Shepard is touching someone like me" a big grin appeared on her face as she let her mind wander with Shepard and her cuddling in his bed with no suit as to act as a go between when suddenly Shepard's hand moves down her body and suddenly unimaginable pleasure ensu… _

"_Like I was saying Tali" As Tali was brought back into reality with a bump her smile still apparent on her face but not as big as before "I know you didn't come up here to apologise so what's on your mind?"_

"_Well here goes nothing" she thought "Well… I… err… you know that conversation we had before about me finding a way to… with us" _

"_Damn she's so cute when she starts to mumble and stutter"_

"_Well I've taken some anti-biotics and some herbal suppleme…." _

_Tali didn't get further than that in her bid to try and persuade Shepard to let her share herself with him, he already knew that she was perfect for him and that he was more than willing to help her overcome her nervousness about subjects like this, he slowly released his hands from her hips and gently moved them up her body moving his fingers in circles when they met a particular sensitive area even outside the suit that made Tali moan quietly and eventually they found the clasps on either side of her helmet._

"_Tali are you sure you're ok with this?" Shepard quietly asked_

"_I've never been surer about anything John" was the Quarian's reply _

_Shepard released the clasps and with a jettison of air allowing the pressure to balance between the helmet and the outside environment for the first time in years and then placed it neatly on the table, he then looked into the eyes of his lover, Tali was incredibly worried as Shepard hadn't spoken solidly for longer than a minute which was highly uncommon for him._

"_John… please tell me everything's alright" _

"_Miss Vas Normandy nothing has been more perfect than this moment, you are beautiful"._

_Those words sent Tali completely over the edge in ecstasy, she grabbed Shepard and pushed him backwards until his legs hit the bed and he collapsed onto it, before he had time to regain composure Tali had straddled on top of him and with one seductive growl was now kissing him passionately which he returned with equal force. That night very few words were said but many fantasises of Tali's were fulfilled._

_The next morning Tali awoke to find a half-naked Shepard sat on the edge of the bed; she leaned over and placed her arms around his shoulders still marvelling at the sensual touch everything had on her skin from Shepard's toned shoulders and chest to even the simplest of things such as the air around her. It was wonderful. _

"_Good morning beautiful" _

"_Mmmmm" was all Tali could say as she inhaled John's scent, it brought peace to her heart knowing that he was close._

"_Ready to face the Collectors?" Shepard asked_

_Tali was now woken to the grim fact of reality, today she could start off being so happy having finally bonded with Shepard but by the end of it she could be back to how she felt after he had died upon the original Normandy, a broken shell completely alone. Shepard realised that he had made a mistake and so to attempt to rectify it he found her hand and ran a line of kisses down it, Tali looked up at him now with tears starting to form in her eyes._

"_Promise me you won't die on me again Shepard" she sobbed as tears started to flow down her cheeks._

"_I promise" came the reply solid and instant; it was all that was needed. _

Shepard snapped out of his vision and plunged straight back into reality he saw that Grunt and Kasumi were already on board and Joker of all people was in the hatchway with an assault rifle spraying rounds all over the show, it was amazing that he didn't hit me Shepard thought but kept sprinting towards the Normandy, a few more steps was all it took and as Shepard jumped the ground crumbled away beneath him, he smashed against the side of the ship with his arms reaching out for grip but found none; just as he thought that he was a goner one of Grunt's massive arms reached out and sent Shepard so far skywards that he almost knocked himself out smashing his head on the entrance to the Normandy.

"Alright people!" announced Joker "get outta the way cripple about to save the day!"

He almost leapt into the cockpit discarding the weapon as he went and the Normandy thrust forward with only seconds to spare.

"Come on Joker now is the time to book it!" He heard Shepard shout over the countdown to the Collector Bases demise.

"ALRIGHT PEOPLE this is gonna be a close one HOLD ON" his fingers flying across the various computer HUDS like an accomplished pianist and the Normandy lurched forward even quicker.

EDI chimed in with "entering FTL in 3….2…..1"

The Normandy shot forward and vanished just before the Collector Base exploded in a shimmer of a hellish red explosions.

Shepard and his team had done it, survived a supposed suicide mission with no casualties. Commander John Shepard had once again done the impossible.


	2. Chapter 2 I can

Chapter 2: 

It took a few moments for Shepard to fully understand what they had done, destroyed the Collectors, he had not only led a team successfully through the Omega 4 Relay but he had also taken the fight into the heart of the Collector base albeit with Jokers really good piloting skills which still made them crash and then to top it all off destroyed a hybrid human-reaper without even a scratch on any of his team. Damn Shepard thought I am so damn good sometimes I really need to share it with people. He tried to focus his eyes on the button that would let him access decontamination however Grunt had thrown him so hard into the top sill of the Normandy that he felt that his eyes were going to pop out of his skull. Kasumi watched him carefully.

"You ok there Shep?" She asked

"Well apart from feeling like I've been hit by a tonne of bricks I'm fine" was the sarcastic reply

"N'aaaawwwh is my battlemaster suddenly becoming soft?" It was Grunt "do I need to find someone who is worthy of my power?"

"Shut up Grunt and to clarify no you find someone else and I'll find you and cut off your balls and sell them to Wrex as a prize"

Grunt threw a chesty laugh "I like you Shepard, you've got balls even for a puny human"

Shepard finally found the door button, pressed it and they all went into decontamination, all said nothing too each other as they were lost in their own memories, Kasumi was watching Kajie through her grey box for the millionth time, Shepard was so glad to be alive and looking forward to grasping Tali in a warm hug as soon as he got through decontamination and Grunt was wondering when the next time he got to kill something was. Finally decontamination was complete and EDI chimed in in her cool, emotionless voice.

"Welcome back Shepard and may I be the first to offer my congratulations"

As she finished her sentence the doors into the Normandy opened and the trio were snapped out of their thoughts as they were met by a roar of celebration, everyone had abandoned their posts to come and congratulate the hero of the attack, Shepard scanned the mass of people looking for the one person he wanted to see the most; Tali. His eyes finally focused on her and as usual she was stood wringing her hands nervously to see if Shepard was alright, he looked at her visor and could see the glistening streaks of tears falling down her cheeks, he was completely lost in the moment rushing straight up to her regardless of the pains that he had felt before and flung his arms around her neck, she responded by wrapping her arms tightly round his waist and squeezing tightly not ever wanting to let him go. Instantly the crowd went silent surprised that finally the relationship had come to a head before erupting into more cheers and wolf whistles; somewhere in the midst of all the noise Joker made a sarcastic comment.

"Jeeez Commander couldn't you have kept it in your trousers just a little longer?"

"Shut up you fool, I don't see you getting any loving" was Zaeed's reply

"Ooh right so I completely forgot it was picking on the cripple day? Forgive me for not sending out invitations"

"That's not shutting up Joker"

The crowd was now getting edgy with some of the crew members demanding that Shepard give a speech, right now though Shepard just wanted everyone to relax and thank them all later, however the squeeze that followed the gentle caressing of his upper thigh caused him to look at Tali and she was giving him the "Death Glare" as it was fondly known to him persuading him otherwise, he let go of Tali and moved towards the centre of the conclave of people standing on one of the chairs of the crew deck prompting a surge of cursing from the back of the room with the crewmember muttering disapprovingly "You're getting Collector crap on my seat!" followed by a few chuckles and giggles from the rest of the crew.

"Well first I must say thanks for forcing me to do this speech when all what we need to do is just relax and I'll give it later" a few mocking boos were heard in the audience most notably from Jacob, he continued with "this victory doesn't come down to just me today, it belongs to everyone on this ship for doing their duty, whatever race you are, wherever you have come from I can guarantee that you have made your families proud, your races proud and most importantly" he paused for a second for added effect "Me proud" he added finally with a wink.

The vast majority of the noise that followed was that of happiness and cheering, Grunt however felt he needed to express just how proud the tank-bred Krogan was of his battlemaster by charging through the crowd and subsequently head-butting Shepard with all his power, as Shepard lay on the floor gazing slightly comatose at the ceiling he was proud of what he had helped achieve with his elite squad and vowed that next time Grunt tried to do anything like that he would be ready.

He was picked up off the floor helped up by Garrus.

"Thanks Garrus"

"No problem Shepard, hope that lump doesn't come out too bad then you will definitely have no chance with the ladies, can't complain though" he added "just means more ladies for me at the end of the day".

"No chance in hell Garrus, you just damn ugly"

"That hurt Shepard. You have to dig deeper every time don't you"

"Ah well, where would you be without me?"

"Do not get me started on that, so when are you finally going to give the attention that your lover is so obviously pining for right now?" he motioned to Tali across who was staring intently at Shepard wringing her hands together yet again.

"Good point mate, anyways I should go"

"Why do you always say that?"

"Why do you always brag about your reach and flexibility?"

"Woah Shepard I only have one of those traits, god you never listen to me"

"Catch up with you later Garrus"

With that Garrus walked away entering the elevator pressing 3, after the doors had closed Shepard now had to think of a way to get rid of everyone else who wanted to speak to him, he wanted to show Tali just how much he had missed her even during that small time aboard the Collector vessel; he thought of something that might just work.

"Alright guys LISTEN UP" his voice bellowed being channelled through the relatively small corridor structure of the Normandy; the crowd stopped chatting and watched him.

"To celebrate just how much I appreciated your help with this mission I've decided our next stop is going to be the Citadel in which I've booked the entire of Pleasant Moons rooms"

Suddenly all the female on deck started giggling and gossiping amongst themselves, Pleasant Moons was the highest order of luxury on the Citadel, only incredibly wealthy people were found there and were pampered to their hearts content. Yeoman Kelly Chambers started to formulate how she was going to "persuade" one of the male members of the crew to "treat her like a proper lady" Thane was her first thought , but then there was Jacob, perhaps the Commander wouldn't mind a bit on the side? She pouted. So many men so little time to prepare.

"ANYWAY" the Commander continued "The hotel is on me, however all of your workstations need to be spotless and all work needs to be completed, if one of you fails to pass we all won't go" a sudden abrupt silence followed "so now let's all get down to business and get that well deserved break that we ne.." he voice was drowned out mid-sentence by all the women on the CIC rushing towards their quarters attempting to prepare for what lay ahead of them; as the rest of the crew members sloped off back to their workstations attempting to look as though it didn't bother them when it secretly did; Shepard heard Grunts voice "Hmmmph… weaklings" and then he thumped off back down to his tank on deck 4.

Finally Shepard thought, I can see the one person that I love, he glanced over at Tali who was still even now wringing her hands together, does she ever stop? Shepard left that question unanswered because he truly didn't know; hell it was so damn cute but then again everything was perfect about Tali. He snuck up on her from behind as she was conversing with Joker.

"So Joker"

"Jeez Tali what are you going to rib me about now? I've had enough of your disingenuous assertions…"

Tali let out a small yelp as Shepard put his arms around her waist, wanting to return her affections she turned to face her Commander and placed her arms around his shoulders, she looked up into those iodine blue eyes, he was so perfect and he had chosen her, all those years ago when they were fighting Saren and Sovereign she honestly never believed he would have seen past that bosh'tet of a suit that she was shackled in but he had; and boy was she glad and wanting to return the favour….

Shepard broke the silence "Hey honey" Tali's heart fluttered and butterflies immediately settled themselves in her stomach, Oh Keelah she thought why does he always have to embarrass me?

"I just wanted to say that even the small time we've been away I…" he broke off into a murmur

"What's that John? I didn't catch it fully?" She asked innocently

"Well….. I….. Errr" Jesus Shepard he thought you've destroyed millions of Geth persuaded a Quarian Admiralty board, charmed your way in every situation and now your lost for words? You complete and utter basta..

Tali interrupted his thought process.

"Come on John you can tell me" while she said this her hand moved from his shoulder and made its way down his chest stopping on his stomach and making circular motions around his six pack.

"Well basically it was that even in that small space of time I…. I missed you Miss Vas Normandy"

"Oh…. Wow John… I.. I missed you too" She nuzzles her mask against his face attempting a makeshift kiss.

"Do you fancy spending some time together tonight…?" He let the question drift off and let Tali's mind take care of the rest.

Oh KEELAH what does he mean? Does he want to have a night like before the Omega 4 Relay again or just like we used to before when we were getting to know each other when he came to see me once every so often, Tali hadn't said anything in a long time and started to wring her hands together again.

"Miss Vas Normandy…. Are you ok?"

"I'm a little confused John, I'm sorry but I don't really get what you mean"

Shepard looked her straight in the eyes, and with that same old smile that made her melt inside said

"It can mean whatever you want it to mean Miss Vas Normandy" He then winked at her which made her heart jump into orbit.

"Oh…. Right… Ok… I'll have a think" She summoned up enough courage and tried her best sultry voice "Commander" returning the wink which caught Shepard off guard and sent him reeling inside.

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PEOPLE" this time it was Joker who was admittedly only a few feet away "I AM SITTING RIGHT HERE, TAKE IT SOMEWHERE ELSE"

Shepard turned to Joker "Don't take my lines then"

He then turns back to Tali and lifts her up one arm under her back and then one under her legs, giving a soft moan for being taken off guard she snuggles into Shepard's chest and watches him carry her into the elevator and out of the corner of her eye she sees him press level 1; her heart almost jumping completely out of her chest.

The elevator doors closed and Joker turned back to his control panel, he was about to ask EDI something but she had got in first.

"That's going to be the last physical contact you see in a while Mr Moreau"


	3. Chapter 3 Jacob's Secret Realm

**Hey Guys new chapter is up! **

**Sorry it's a little short haven't had much time over the past few days but still wanted to publish something.**

**Hope your enjoying the story so far =)**

**Like I said in Chapter 2 if you have any ideas on where you would like this story to go please tell me =) Hopefully i'd do them justice!**

**Thanks to SergiusTheGreat for pointing me out on a few things I did wrong in the first 2 chapters, hopefully this one is a lot better!**

**If you could review no matter how small that truly would be awesome, even if it's something small it would still be much appreciated! **

**Might focus on a romantic scene for the most of the next chapter (hopefully it won't be too bad!) **

**As always much love =) **

**AsozMania**

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Tali was in heaven, the threat of the Collectors now purged from her mind, Shepard holding her close in his strong arms, her mask fitting just perfectly in between his arm and his shoulder, the list of just how perfect things were could have had her lost within her mind all day however Shepard had other ideas.

'Finally' Shepard reiterated that word many times over in his mind 'I can have some alone time with Tali, I'm so glad I found her aga…. Awh shoot' he cursed many time over in his mind 'forgot to give my weapons back to Jacob; damn what a way to ruin the moment'.

"Tali honey?"

Tali let out a satisfied groan hinting to Shepard that she didn't want to be disturbed.

"Miss Vas Normandy?" He tried again but still got the same response as before, suddenly an idea popped into Shepard's head, it was fortunate that they were the only occupants in the elevator; he moved his right arm slowly towards Tali's waist and gave a small pleasing squeeze.

Tali was sure that Shepard would have done something that would have made her move but never expected something quite like that, she jumped at his touch and almost fell out of Shepard's arms, regaining her composure she attempted to make herself comfortable; 'Grrr..Stupid Bosh'tet' she thought 'he'll pay for that later'

"Now that I finally have your attention I'm sorry to say that I forgot to leave my armour and weapons with Jacob" He looked into Tali's beautiful silver orbs shining through her helmet and added "are you going to be ok up here for a couple of minutes?"

"Shepard if I were you I'd be more worried about yourself trying to cope without me for those few minutes"

"Fine then" Shepard's voice was now emotionless and cold "You won't want me coming back then?"

Tali realised she had said something that had upset Shepard instantly started to apologise.

"Oh Keelah Shepard I'm sorry, I didn't realise something like that would upset you so much" She wormed her way out of his grasp and then grabbed him squeezing as hard as she could trying to stay as close to Shepard as she could, she looked into his blue eyes; the warmth that he reserved only for Tali was there.

"It's ok Tali, it's just I really do mean what I said back down in CIC, I'm so glad you came back into my life and I really don't want you to leave my side" He looked away from her clearly embarrassed from what he had just said; she slowly rubbed his cheek with her gloved hand to make his focus back on her.

"Listen to me Shepard, I know how you feel because I feel that connection too, I felt it ever since the demise of Saren but I didn't want to act on it because I felt you didn't feel the same way, when I found out you did well" she paused for just a second tears welling up in her eyes "let's just say you have made me so happy and I never want you to leave me" She let out a stifled sob surprised at how open she was being to someone else.

"There is no chance in hell that will ever happen Tali; I will be with you always"

"Keelah…. Thanks Commander"

"Can I ask a question?"

"Of course John"

"Why have you started calling me Commander?"

"Well that's for me to know and you to find out" Tali's voice had taken that sultry tone that made Shepard shiver.

"Now go on down to the armoury!" her voice now normal again shooing Shepard back into the elevator "Jacob won't wait forever!"

"Ok, ok I'm going! Back in a flash"

"One last thing John"

"Yes?"

"Please do us a favour and never say that again"

Shepard sighed with a fake sad look appearing on his face "Ok" adding an exaggerated sniffle for added effect and then vanishing from view as the elevator doors closed.

Tali was now left alone in Shepard's cabin, 'time to finally repay back all of what he's done for me' she smirked slightly at just how confident she was getting; Shepard was a good influence on her.

Shepard exited the elevator in CIC and looked up towards the cabin ceiling

"EDI?"

The familiar blue hologram flew up, this time right in the middle of the deck causing a few of the crew members around to interrupt their careful cleaning of their work stations and glare at EDI before frantically returning to their work; not wanting to be the one to face the rest of the crews wrath for not being able to go to Pleasant Moons.

"Yes Commander?"

"This ship is the pinnacle of all technology to date, we have some of the greatest minds in the galaxy on board, so could you please just get one of them to take a look at making the elevator going just a little bit quicker!"

Not sensing the Commander's half-joking attitude EDI replied with a simple.

"Yes Commander, Mordin has been notified"

Shepard facepalmed, 'EDI is supposed to be the most intelligent AI to date; hell a toaster would have been more suited to the task'.

Walking now into the armoury or "Jacobs Secret Realm" as it was dubiously known to some of the crew members which Shepard still didn't know why he saw the ex-Alliance marine cleaning Grunt's hulk-of-a shotgun, Shepard could just hear Jacob muttering under his breath, he attempted to listen closely but could only catch a few words, The and Prize to be precise, Shepard sighed; 'what it would be like to have a normal crew'.

"Ah the hero of the day returns" Jacob stands giving Shepard a quick salute before returning to his work.

"Jacob how many times have I told you that I don't want this ship to be formal like those Alliance ships, and also you were just as much a hero as me going into that Collector base; we did it as a team"

"Hell Commander I don't want you going all soft on me, that may have been the case but we wouldn't have been able to achieve it without you; me? Well I'm just glad the Lazarus Project worked and we gave the Collectors what was coming to them" He saluted again at the Commander

This time Shepard returned the salute

"The honour is mine Jacob" he paused for a second and then continued realising he was still in his armour "mind if I leave this armour here with you?"

"Sure thing Commander, I won't keep you any longer"

"It's been nice talking to you Jacob"

Jacob just turned back to cleaning the weapon, 'strange that he never says goodbye' Shepard thought and he strolled back out into the CIC. He had managed to sneak past Kelly while she was in some trance like state trying to tie up all her loose ends; and still battling over who she should wanted, 'Thane? Jacob? Is there really any chance with Shepard? Damn it was hard being a woman'

Shepard was just about to enter the elevator when EDI's voice rang out.

"Shepard, Mordin would like to see you in the Lab"

"Alright EDI Ill check it out; thanks"

Shepard entered Mordin's lab to find the veteran Salarian scientist like he always had done, with his head pouring over a terminal that sat on the desk in the middle; 'I bet he's not really doing research and playing Alliance Corsairs 4 or something' Shepard wondered 'Damn he better not beat my all-time high score'.

"Ah Shepard good to see you, good work on Collector Base, glad you didn't give in to Illusive Man's requests, far too dangerous to let human hybrid reaper survive, would come to how do you humans say" he paused for a incredibly small amount of time before adding "bite you in the ass later" he glanced up at Shepard eyes blinking insanely quickly. Typical Mordin.

"Hey Mordin I'm glad you thought I did the right thing, I was told by EDI that you wanted to see me? Is it about the Genophage data?"

"No no no no no Shepard that is currently" he paused from his work for a moment and without even looking in the direction he pointed over his back showing to Shepard that it was in that general direction amongst piles of datapads, he continued "somewhere over there, don't know where, not too bothered at the moment though, it's about something much more exciting; it's about your relationship with Tali Zorah".

Shepard was suddenly a lot more curious.

"What about our relationship?"

"Well a few days ago before the attack through the Omega 4 Relay Tali came to me asking for some herbal supplements and some anti-biotic injections to bolster her immune system with, and now has come to see me just a few minutes ago before you came in…"

"What? I thought Tali had stayed on Deck 1? I swear I would have heard the elevator come down"

Mordin was now holding up his Omni-tool and reading off a data pad.

"Shows here that you have elevated heart rate, high blood pressure and that you now have no kidneys…"

"That's nothing too seri…..WHAT!"

"Only joking Shepard, not possible for you to live without kidneys or at least would be almost impossible, might have to research some of this"

"Ok Mordin but what does that mean?"

"Well I'd have to conduct some tes…"

"No Mordin about my blood pressure"

"Ah right much more simple, shows that you are under severe stress and so consequently may not be functioning to full capacity"

"Hell Mordin you're starting to sound like Legion"

"And you're starting to look like him"

Shepard frowned and crossed his arms "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing really, weak willed attempt at popular human comeback" Mordin inhaled deeply "Need to work on that".

"Ok Mordin could you please get to the point?"

"Ah of course Shepard, reason I wanted to see you was to warn you and to watch out when you go back onto deck 1, Miss Zorah probably has a surprise for you…"

"Oh" Shepard was surprised that Mordin had offered to talk to Shepard about as something as trivial as his relationship, normally it was something like Quantum Leaps and Quasars.

"Thanks Mordin I'll keep that in mind"

"No problem Shepard, proud to be here"

"I'll let you work"

'Wow that was possibly the most pointless conversation I've had with Mordin. Ever. Can't complain though; least it was something I could understand'.

Shepard exited Mordin's lab and finally managed to get into the elevator without anyone else collaring him, he would talk to the rest of the crew later; he pressed the button for Deck 1 and prepared himself for what was to come…


	4. Chapter 4 You Complete Me

**Hello again! And thank you very much for dropping by whether this be your first (In which I suggest you go back and read chapters 1-3 first!) or your catching up with the story.**

**Apologies for it being a while since I last updated, found the romance scene a little tricky although I hope you like how it went.**

**I've been plugging reviews quite a bit and I haven't taken the time to thank all of those people who favourited, story alerted, author alerted and whatever else you can do on here!****=) **

**Please let me know somehow whether you think the story is good/bad/ugly and if you have a specific idea of what you'd like me to include please review or whatever I don't know how else you can do it other than by PMing me =)**

**Thanks to all those who have followed the story so far.**

**Next chapter should be out a lot quicker! **

**Much love**

**AsozMania **

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As the elevator neared deck one Shepard stated to become increasingly ambivalent, yes he was happy that Tali was gaining confidence and starting to come out of her suit a bit more 'both mentally and physically! Oh god if I ever get bored of being the Galaxy's Hero then I'm going to become a comedian!' Shepard laughed to himself then felt kind of stupid for laughing at his own joke, 'anyway' he returned to original thought ' I'm more scared now than when I walked in on Joker watching that really dodgy Hanar porn' Shepard shuddered at the very thought of it.

_Shepard walked into the cockpit._

"_Hey Joker how far are we away fr…"_

"_This one prophesises that one is going to pound you like yesterday's beef" _

"_Woops, should have put that one through the speaker; good thing no one…."_

_Joker swivelled quickly in his chair to check that no one was within ear shot, sadly however instead of an empty room he found he was face to face with the Commander._

"_Oh crap, hey Commander; you just come in here?" He hoped that the Commander had._

"_Nope sadly not Joker, I don't know who is more embarrassed at the moment, me or you" _

"_Oh come on Commander it was totally accidental!" _

"_You putting it through the speakers that was probably an accident, not the wanting to watch it part"_

"_Please don't tell everyone ok?" _

_This time it was EDI's voice that chimed in._

"_Have now notified everyone aboard the Normandy at this current time, would you like me to send a message to everyone who is not aboard?"_

"_WHAT!" Joker almost had a seizure and a harsh vein started to pulsate on his forehead._

"_That was a joke Jeff; I would never do such a thing regardless of how much sick and perverted the fantasies are" _

"_I hate you sometimes EDI"_

"_Likewise Jeff"_

Shepard now back in real time had found that he was standing in the elevator with the doors open and had been for some time; expecting to see Tali there he was greeted instead by Kasumi.

"Hey Shep; are you sure you ok?"

"Hey Kasumi, yeah I'm fine just need some rest I think"

Kasumi just stood there rigid for a few seconds before bursting into laughter.

"What's so funny now then?"

Kasumi managed to calm herself down enough to splutter

"Well I don't really think Tali had much plan on that tonight Shep" She paused again falling back into her fit of laughter.

"Can you please just get to the point please Kasumi?"

Regaining composure now Kasumi continued "Well judging by the fact that she just told me she was going down to see Mordin and then talk to Kelly I wouldn't be surprised if you had your hands full tonight"

With that Kasumi walked past Shepard and into the elevator, she tried to hold herself from laughing at least until the door closed but it didn't work; just a fraction before the door closed all Shepard could hear was Kasumi roar with laughter.

'One minute she goes from being all quiet and mysterious to then something like that, well I guess you can't educate pork Shepard' He face palmed attempting to come up with a valid reason of why he still let her cloak on the ship.

An idea suddenly popped into Shepard's head 'If Tali is going to attempt to seduce me then I better have a shower first; I stink like Grunt's breath after he's eaten an entire live varren.'

With that Shepard stripped off, hid any evidence that he was here and jumped into the shower.

* * *

Out of the corner of her mask Tali recognised that Shepard was coming out of Mordin's lab, she leaped over the railing straight through the Galaxy Map and pushed herself as close as she could underneath the ramp, she wanted it to be a surprise for Shepard and to prove her love for him, instinctively her hand shot up to her pouch containing the anti-biotic injections and herbal contraptions that Mordin had just provided her with; Kelly's head then appeared from above.

"Shepard's gone Tali, its ok to come out now"

Tali crawled out of her hiding space to see the elevator in motion.

"I think that's exhausted all my knowledge on a subject such as inter-species relationships but here take this" She holds up Tali's Omni-tool to hers and scans "This might help"

Tali was starting to burn up furiously now "Thanks Kelly, you've been a great help"

"Oh and don't forget Tali, if you forget any of this just improvise! That little trick has helped me lots of times"

A small smile starts to appear across Kelly's face; seeing this as a good moment to escape Tali makes for the elevator.

"Thanks for your help Kelly"

Tali presses for deck 1, 'Keelah! Now comes the hard part'.

* * *

Shepard couldn't hear the elevator moving what with the shower being on and him being lost in his own thoughts.

'Why couldn't Cerberus have provided me with a bath? What with all the cash that they had plugged into this ship and me you think they could have put in a bath for me and my'

As Shepard finished that thought he brought into his view a yellow coloured piece of plastic, commonly known back on Earth as a Rubber Duck, Shepard loved his duck, it was the only memento to remind him of his past; Shepard didn't particularly like his past but he understood that it should never be forgotten and so that duck was his lifeline.

He was too busy examining TIM (the Duck) that he didn't hear the elevator stop on deck one, the doors open and someone enter, he didn't even acknowledge when the door to the bathroom opened but was awoken from his thoughts when Tali screamed.

"KEELAH! Oh Shepard I'm sorry!" Tali immediately sheltered her gaze from what she had seen, a deeply chiselled chest and stomach dripping wet; she only got a glimpse of what was normally hidden away from her and immediately her face began to heat up and a familiar arousal of her lower area occurred.

She retreated back into the cabin and found herself stopped when she backed all the way into Shepard's private terminal and models almost knocking the Shadow Broker's ship off.

'Oh Keelah, not a good way to start things off'

Shepard now entered back into the cabin wrapped only in a towel around his lower waist, Tali had a sudden urge to rip the towel away and pounce on him, it only happened for a split second though and was replaced by her old self not knowing what to say and stuttering through everything.

"Kee….keelah Shepard, I'm so sorr… sorry, I" her old defence mechanism started to kick in "…. I didn't realise that you were up here and I really shouldn't have come into there, it's just I didn't realise you were in the bathroom and I heard the shower running and I went to check it out and…"

She was cut off by Shepard placing a finger on her mouthpiece.

"Tali it's ok, I have no bother with you going anywhere you want on this deck, this is now your home as much as it is mine"

This made a huge smile shoot across Tali's face; she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tightly.

"Keelah Shepard; you have no idea just how much that means to me"

"Well now that that's sorted out" Tali watched as a cheeky smile appeared across the Commander's face.

"What's this I hear about you sneaking off to see Mordin and Kelly when I'm not looking? I thought I told you to stay here and wait for when I got back; I hope this isn't going to become and problem is it Miss Vas Normandy?"

Hearing Shepard start teasing her like this just made Tali feel more aroused; adding to the fact that she could see Shepard's towel start to unknot itself.

'Oh Keelah, get a hold of yourself Tali; one "problem" at a time'

But no matter how hard Tali thought she couldn't formulate a decent excuse to try and make Shepard feel the same way as she did now, her eyes just flitted around their cabin, from the iodine blue radiating from the fish-tank to the door leading back out into the elevator but her eyes eventually graced back upon Shepard's bare skin.

'Keelah, I still don't understand why he chose me, he could have chosen anyone of the crew, kissed them whenever he pleased and fooled around with them at his given romantic opportunity; but he chose me which I have no clue still as to why…'

Shepard somehow sensed that Tali was still grappling over why he chose her over everyone else and sought to calm her fears.

"Tali I know what you're thinking" Shepard moved in closer and held Tali in his arms and continued "I chose you because you're the only person I care about in this way, ever since you and I have got closer I have felt so much better" He leaned in close and whispered next to her mouthpiece "You complete me".

That last comment sent Tali reeling 'She completed Shepard? Oh Keelah that's not possible!' Tali's legs instantly turned to jelly and so she leant against the desk attempting to keep her shock from Shepard. She felt like she was going to faint, she had no idea that Shepard was that into her; sure she knew that he had feelings for her but nothing of that sort.

"And also you have one killer body" Shepard added with a big Cheshire Cat smirk.

'Brilliant John; what a way to kill the mood'

Tali finally found her feet again and decided it was now John's turn to be embarrassed.

"Well if you're lucky you might get a surprise tonight" She said in her sultry tone.

Tali hadn't been expecting a counter from her Commander though.

"Oh no Miss Vas Normandy; I think if they'll be any surprises then I'll be the one doing them."

This pushed Tali completely over the edge again, now fully aroused and without thinking her hands shot up to her mask and clicked the release catches, she laid the mask on the desk and pounced on Shepard, not having enough time to prepare himself for an aroused Quarian pouncing on him Shepard was pushed to the floor all the time never letting their lips part letting their tongues explore each other's mouths.

As they lay on the floor wrapped in each other's arms Tali's hands started to explore more of Shepard's body eventually being contented with one stroking his hip and the other with just her index finger moving in vertical motions up and down his chest. Shepard's followed suit with his hands brushing her arms and then slowly one of his hands moved down her toned stomach and in between her legs in which Tali's response was an uncontrollable moan of pleasure; she started to grind slowly against Shepard's hand.

"Shepard?"

Shepard's hand instantly stopped and he pulled away.

"What is it Tali? Am I doing something wrong? I'm sorry if I am"

"No John you're doing nothing wrong at all; I was just wondering if you'd give me time to get out of my suit and let me feel your skin against mine" Tali shivered at the thought, the thought of the night before the relay appeared in her mind again fuelling her pleasure further.

"Oh right ok, sure thing beautiful" Shepard smiled at her pleasantly

"To tell you the truth John I would like you to help me, but it'd take far too long for my liking"

Now she finally got what she wanted before, John was genuinely surprised at that comment.

"Well then don't take too long Miss Vas Normandy; Captain's orders"

Shepard picked himself up off the floor and offered a hand to Tali, she took it and was heaved up into a quick hug before being let go; Shepard started to walk away but Tali grabbed his hand from behind.

"And just where do you think you're going Commander?"

"Well I figured that you wanted.."

"Well you thought wrong John I said I didn't want any help but that doesn't mean you can't give me a hand some of the time; my suit catches might get stuck round my back" She turned around and exposed her rear towards Shepard "And I might need your assistance"

"Well it'd be my pleasure Miss Vas Normandy"

Tali started to unclip the various catches around her suit for it to come off, the suit wasn't really practical in that sense, it took ages for it to fully come off but then it wasn't supposed to be as flexible as normal clothing, it was a Quarians home for the vast majority of their life and rarely did they come out of it; even for bonding.

Tali managed to get the hood, her helmet and the top half of her suit off without much trouble, however she got stuck when trying to get the lower half off, one of the clasps was a little stiff.

"John? I could require your assistance right about now"

Shepard could see that she was genuinely in distress and so moved forward to help her, he decided against helping her right away though and moved his arms around her now bare stomach from behind much to Tali's pleasure and began to slowly caress her body, Tali now turned so she was facing Shepard and for the second time in as many days placed her gloveless three digit hand on his chest.

It was instantly electrifying and both let their hands again explore each other's bodies, Tali let out a moan again as Shepard moved one of his hands onto her now bare chest and started to run his finger around Tali's nipples, they instantly hardened and Tali's breathing started to become more ragged, leaving Shepard's skin Tali again attempted to free the stubborn clasp but to no avail.

Shepard sensing that Tali was becoming impatient planted kisses from her jawline all the way down her body until he reached the clasp by her waist, with a bit of strength the clasp finally came undone and Tali was now fully exposed to the air around her; it felt good.

Planting kisses back up towards Tali's face he finally comes face to face with the Quarian again, Shepard took a step back to admire just how beautiful his Quarian girlfriend was gazing at her body until Tali surprised him.

"It's not fair John" that voice just cut through his defences every time.

"What's not fair Tali?"

"The fact that you still have your towel around your waist" without even getting permission from Shepard Tali stepped forward and ripped the towel away from his waist now exposing Shepard to her; he was every bit as beautiful as she thought he was going to be.

Pure instinct took over Tali now and she pushed Shepard with surprising force until his legs hit the bed and he was forced to fall back onto the bed; he wasn't unaccompanied for long though as Tali climbed on top of him straddling him and kissing him furiously. Shepard's hands resumed their task of pleasuring Tali one on her breast gently caressing it and the other made its way back down to her legs to which more moaning from her occurred.

Tali now moved her hands down towards Shepard's waist but he stopped what he was doing a moved her hands back up to his chest.

"Don't worry about me Tali; tonight is going to be all about you"

Tali felt another pang of pleasure shoot around her body as Shepard's hands continued back to what they were originally doing.

"I.." Her breathing now become erratic and deep "I love you John"

"I love you too Tali"


End file.
